[CALIBK12] Collection Development and GN After School Nightmare

[Thomas Kaun]

Hi, Connie.
You've raised some really interesting questions which could lead to fruitful
discussion.
I do think that it is ultimately your professional judgment which should
prevail here. That doesn't mean you don't get input from as many folks as
possible, especially with controversial items like ones you've mentioned.
I've never had the luxury (or the burden) of any kind of a selection
committee in all my years as a TL. It's a somewhat lonely job and we do make
mistakes from time to time--I certainly have had my share.
On the tech's discovery that you have "adult" books as designated by
Follett, I hope we all have adult books. Follett does not categorize a book
as "adult" because it's pornographic or obscene, it merely is saying the
book is written for an adult reader as contrasted with a young adult or
juvenile title. Many books in our collections are categorized as adult so
that cannot be used as a way of deciding whether a book is suitable for a
high school library.
As far as "full nudity" in GNs go, it's interesting. I see kids in the
bookstore near me all the time reading GNs full of violent, sexualized
images which I probably wouldn't buy but I wonder why not. I guess it's sort
of like not providing Playboy in the school library even though kids have
access at home (with or without parental permission). And in fact I know I
have some quite "graphic" books in my library. I guess once I've added the
book to the collection based on whatever my selection criteria are then I'll
have to justify the selection when the time comes that the book is
challenged. Until then, I'll bide my time.
This is an important topic and I really like to see a thorough discussion of
it on a professional level.
I think we all need some help when it comes to selecting controversial
materials and the role that pre-censoring plays in our decision-making.
I am a little curious about your statement that CSLA recommended the series.
I didn't know CSLA did that kind of recommendation. Maybe you're thinking of
YALSA.
Thanks for asking.
Tom Kaun

On Tue, Sep 23, 2008 at 9:04 PM, <ode2living at aol.com> wrote:

> Hello. I was wondering how many of you carry the series, *After School
> Nightmare,* or are familiar with the series. I ordered the series, but
> Follett delivered just one volume because the others were out of stock. One
> of my technicians was disturbed by the fact it is about a hermaphrodite and
> that on one page, there is a sex scene (bare shoulders in bed with no
> breasts showing). We also have a couple of students who are manga "gurus";
> they've read tons of GN and recommend a lot of titles to me. Anyway, these
> girls told my tech that this series is NOT appropriate for high school and
> that one volume (or more?) has a scene that contains "full nudity." Does
> anyone know? My tech also said that in the MARC record Follett has the
> series identified as "adult," which is true. However, the publisher has the
> series classified as "OT: Older Teens 16+," and it was named a Top 10
> Graphic Novel series for teens by CSLA.
> So, this experience has me really thinking about:
> 1. Should I carry this in my HS collection? If so, how do I address the 16+
> recommendation (if at all)?
> 2. a. How do you address the issue when one of your techs disagrees with
> your collection development decisions? Obviously, it's ultimately the TL's
> decision, and we've been trained to deem what's appropriate. However, I
> don't want to exclude my techs and would rather get them "on board" with
> what we have in our collection, especially when they, too, recommend these
> books to our students just as much as I do.
> b. I also once had a different tech upset that I had purchased a novel
> that, in her opinion, had too many vulgar words. Of course, she hadn't read
> the book or the reviews. She is very conservative. I imagine many of us are
> questioned about our purchases by our staff. When this happens, how do you
> address it? Also, is this important enough for CSLA to address? Would
> paraprofessionals benefit from having a CSLA conference session on
> censorship and collection development, particularly those paraprofessionals
> who are in charge of collection development and don't have the benefit of a
> TL?
>
> If you've made it this far, thank you! This post is really two-fold. TIA
> for any input.
>
> Connie Joyce
> Teacher Librarian
> Rancho Cucamonga High School
> Rancho Cucamonga, CA
> =
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-- 
Thomas T. Kaun
Teacher Librarian
Bessie Chin Library @ Redwood High School
395 Doherty Drive, Larkspur, CA 94939
tomkaun at gmail.com | Library Web site: http://rhslibrary.org | Professional
development blog: http://tomlmt2.blogspot.com/ | Library news blog:
http://libraryleaves.blogspot.com

Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day,
something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else
would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always part of
unanimity.
- Christopher Morley
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